Photo: Perris Mayor Michael Vargas and Public Services Director Sabrina Chavez hold the city’s official proclamation declaring April as Arts, Culture and Health Month during the March 25, 2025 City Council meeting. They were joined by City Council members, representatives from the County of Riverside, and the Arts and Health Collective.

Written by Miguel Vasquez

The City of Perris officially declared April 2025 as Arts, Culture, and Health Month, marking a formal step in the city’s growing effort to integrate the arts into its approach to improve health outcomes and community well-being.

The proclamation follows a series of local, state, and national initiatives that highlight the role of creativity in advancing quality of life, social equity, and overall wellness. In recent years, local leaders have invested in various public art programs across Perris, from mural installations and park art projects to community gardening and student-led creative campaigns.

City officials announced the declaration during a recent council meeting, supported by remarks from the Arts and Health Collective, a pilot project affiliated with the Riverside County Healthy Cities Network (HCN), which operates under the Riverside University Health System – Public Health. The proclamation aligns with the larger HCN 2.0 framework, which integrates arts, health, and planning as a unified approach to building healthier communities. Inspiration for this effort comes from national initiatives like Arts for Everybody, a campaign led by the National League of Cities and One Nation/One Project that demonstrates how the arts can improve public health and civic engagement.

The declaration also positions Perris as one of the first Inland cities to join California’s broader celebration of Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month, a designation made official in 2019 through Senate Concurrent Resolution 33 (SCR 33). That resolution, backed by the nonprofit Californians for the Arts and embraced by the County of Riverside Economic Development Agency, encourages local governments to recognize and support cultural contributions to community vitality.

Among the city’s initiatives cited during the presentation were:

– The Public Art Initiative, approved in 2019, funds cultural programming, visual and performing arts, and architecture-based community projects.

– The Utility Box Art Program, which brought original artwork to 20 utility boxes in Downtown Perris, will expand to include local school participation.

– Art in Parks is a program for tile and rock murals at Enchanted Hills and Copper Creek parks.

– Christmas Tree Cheer, a seasonal project, engages 26 schools to decorate and display trees on 14 medians along Perris Blvd.

– Grow Perris, an urban farming initiative launched in 2016 that has resulted in the development of 26 gardens and, more recently, the addition of school gardens in partnership with Perris Elementary School District.

Leaders from the Arts and Health Collective stated that arts and culture offer a natural extension of public health efforts, especially in communities seeking to address the social determinants of health—factors such as education, equity, housing, and access to green spaces. By adopting this proclamation, Perris joins a national conversation on how creative expression contributes to individual and community well-being. The City of Perris is planning several upcoming events aligned with the proclamation, including an Artist Mixer on April 24, the launch of a Mayor’s Art Contest, and a community workshop on the future of the Perris Theater. Preparing the Public Arts, Culture, and Health Master Plan is also on the horizon with the intention of activating this approach on a year-round basis.

The proclamation comes at a time when cities across the country reevaluate the role of public space, local culture, and artistic expression in civic life—particularly in response to recent social and public health challenges. The decision reflects a growing recognition that cultural infrastructure plays a vital role in shaping community identity, fostering engagement, and supporting collective well-being. In Perris, the declaration underscores a shift in how the arts are viewed—not as peripheral amenities, but as central elements of a thriving, connected city. The proclamation was approved unanimously by the City Council.